Page 232 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

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Mythic Approach

Overview

Myths are stories that attempt to provide explanations about some of the
enduring mysteries of human existence. Classics scholar Gilbert Highet
explains:

The central answer is that myths are permanent. [Myths] deal with the
greatest of all problems, the problems which do not change because men
and women do not change. They deal with love; with war; with sin; with
tyranny; with courage; with fate; and all in some way or other deal with
the relation of man to those divine powers which are sometimes to be
cruel, and sometimes, alas, to be just. 1

Myths touch on timeless dilemmas or temptations facing human be-
ings. Consequently, similar mythic tales recur throughout many cultures.
Thus, Native American myths address the same essential issues of life
as are found in Greek mythology. Henry A. Murray observes, “From
psychoanalysts—Freud, Rank, Jung, and many others—we have learnt
that numerous themes commonly represented nowadays in the dreams,
fantasies, story compositions, play enactions, and art forms of children are
essentially similar to the themes of widely known primitive myths.” 2
Popular genres satisfy our innate hunger to see mythic issues acted
out by characters on-screen. Critic Alessandra Stanley explains:

Breakthrough shows present an eternal truth (or deadly sin) in a new,
slightly titillating configuration. . . . In 1999, “Who Wants to Be a Mil-
lionaire” put greed into a prime-time game show format. Lust came out of
the closet in shows like “Temptation Island,” while dating competitions like
“The Bachelor” married the primal Cinderella myth to today’s obsession
with speed dating and Internet hookups. . . . [In 2003], the It show was

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